‘I won't back away' insists Pat Ryan as Cork boss repeats three-year ‘failure' claim ahead of All-Ireland hurling final
Anything less than Liam MacCarthy Cup glory by 2025 'would be a failure', Ryan noted following his appointment as successor to Kieran Kingston.
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Pat Ryan believes he will have failed as Cork boss if they don't win the All-Ireland
Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
The decider against Tipperary marks the end of the three-year term he was handed ahead of the 2023 season and the Cork boss insisted: 'I won't back away from stuff I've said.
'You'll be judged by other people but my judgement as a Cork person, as a person who's played, as a person who's watched games and been involved in going to matches when we won All-Irelands in the 90s and the 80s, that's what's expected. I think that's the expectation when you take on the job — that you're going to win All-Irelands.
'If you don't, I suppose failure, is it the right word?
'It's probably a harsh word at times. But it's true . . . you have to win All-Irelands if you're going to be the Cork manager. It's as simple as that. You don't shy away from that.'
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Having guided Cork to back-to-back Under-20 titles before taking the top job, Ryan has overseen the transition of talented youngsters such as Ciarán Joyce, Shane Barrett, Brian Hayes and Alan Connolly.
A member of the 1999 panel who won the All-Ireland under Jimmy Barry-Murphy, he aims to guide his county to their first senior crown in 20 years.
But when asked about his future in the hotseat, Ryan said: 'The outcome might reflect what the county board feel, do you know what I mean?
'From my point of view, I hate terms, I think it should be a one-year term and you do your best. If you want to stay on, do your best again.
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'At the end of the day, I'm an amateur person doing an amateur job. I don't have any contract. I can walk away at any stage and the county board can move me on at any stage. It's what my family want to do, my energy, whether the lads want to stay on, it's about the group.
'I've been very consistent and I've said to the lads before, 'If you're not making things better, you get out of the way', because there are loads of brilliant people in Cork who want to be in my position and deal with the brilliant players that I have.
'Easiest interview I've ever had' jokes RTE GAA host after pundits go back and forth before Meath vs Donegal
'If you're not moving the needle along closer to where we want to get to — which is the ultimate, winning the All-Ireland — you just can't hog the job, for want of a better word.'
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